DOOMSDAY CLOCK #1 Release Coming Early - At 11:57 p.m.

DC Comics' Doomsday Clock #1 was originally announced for release on Wednesday, November 22, but it's now coming eerlier - with a special Watchmen-centric time.

The publisher has announced plans to allow retailers to begin selling Doomsday Clock #1 at 11:57 p.m. local time on Tuesday, November 21 - the time, of course, being the same as the time on the clock in the masthead of the cover.

The time 11:57 has added significance in the context of Watchmen; in the story, the metaphorical "Doomsday Clock" - a Cold War era metric of how close the world sits to an apocalypse scenario - ticks one minute forward to 11:57, pushing Ozymandias to enact his plan to prevent nuclear war.

The real Doomsday Clock ticked forward to 11:57 in 2016, placing the world's threat level at "three minutes to midnight." The Doomsday Clock hit 11:57 once prior, in 1986 - the same era depicted in Watchmen.

Like other midnight release parties (give or take 3 minutes), DC will be offering a special Doomsday Clock #1 variant, pins, lithographs, and cake topper.

DC is also encouraging retailers to sell its other November 22-release DC titles early for this special release.